Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Beatriz at Dinner - Miguel Arteta (2017)

"Beatriz at Dinner" is easily the most important
film to come out since Jordan Peele's "Get Out" from earlier this
year.

It tells the story about one rare evening where a member of
the working class is put in a position where she has to socialize with the
bourgeoisie.

Beatriz, played with beautiful subtlety by Salma Hayek, is a masseuse who finds herself stranded at a
wealthy clients' house. The mistress of
the house, Cathy, invites her to stay for a dinner party starting very soon and
involving some very "important" people. It's important throughout the film to
remember that at the start, Cathy really is a likable person.

The most crucial of the guests Beatriz will be spending the evening with is Doug Strutt, a pig of a real
estate mogul, played masterfully by John Lithgow. The strength of Lithgow's performance lies in
his refusal to simply paint this man as a villain. He never lets us forget the wickedness in his
heart for a second, nevertheless showing us glimpses of humanity in his eyes. He even betrays a slight, peculiar fondness
for bizarre but intriguing woman, Beatriz.

The bulk of the film shows Beatriz arguing with these
characters, especially Strutt, about all manner of moral issues while handling
condescension and racial slurs through the night.

Narcissism is the best word to sum up the nature of these ladies
and gentlemen.

One telling sequence involves lighting up "wish
lanterns" and letting them go over the canyon. One of them jokes that they'll be put in jail
if he set fire to the area. Another says
their lawyer friend will just get them off. That's goes right to the center of who these people are. Whether or not a fire is set and people are
endangered is really of no consequence. It's only about the possible penalties for them.

Courage is really Beatriz' most prominent character
quality. You can tell she would be more
comfortable letting some of these heinous comments and attitudes slide, but she
won't. She is meek by nature, but
willing to be bold when she needs to be.

I kept waiting for that moment when these characters would
realize how appalling they were behaving and that Beatriz was right more often
than not through the evening.

If the ending feels unsatisfying, it's meant to be. The film refuses to tie everything with a
trite, happy ending, instead of leaving us with a solid, bleak picture of the shameful way
things really are right now in this country.

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I am not a film critic. I am a film expert. I have a degree in film from Columbia College Chicago.
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You'll find posts about new films coming out, but you're as likely to find me discussing films from last year, years ago, etc.
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